Cut spending, says IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has told Malawi that government spending had to be cut before the country could be considered for debt relief. The IMF said that a major concern was Malawi's poor record in controlling public spending and in preventing the waste of scarce resources. "Ill-conceived activities in the past and fraud are still costing the country dearly," Thomas Gibson, the head of the IMF's mission to Malawi said. Gibson said that any prospects for sustained growth would "remain slim" unless inflation was brought under control. Malawi's current debt is US $2.4 million.